Smith’s North Dakota Support: A Fishy Endorsement

September 27, 1928, was a day of high stakes politics in North Dakota as Governor Walter E. Maddock, the state’s chief executive and a key figure in the Democratic Party, boarded his special train in Bismarck. The local press corps was hot on his heels, eager to pin down his stance on the Democratic nominee, Governor Al Smith of New York. But Maddock was no pushover, and he evaded direct endorsement like a fish leaping from the Missouri River.